Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters speaks during a hearing of the NY State's ethics commission on disclosure rules in Albany Thursday June 7, 2012. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Barbara Bartoletti of the League of Women Voters speaks during a hearing of the NY State's ethics commission on disclosure rules in Albany Thursday June 7, 2012. (John Carl D'Annibale / Times Union)

Photo: John Carl D'Annibale

Unexpected stand against disclosure

1 / 7

Back to Gallery

ALBANY — In an unexpected twist, three of New York's leading good-government advocate groups argued for less, not more, disclosure.

The groups split during a hearing Thursday on whether the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which oversees lobbying, should force coalitions such as the Committee to Save New York and A Strong Economy for All to retroactively say who's been contribuing to them for this year's legislative session.

The seemingly contradictory situation showed the delicate balance between the public's right to know who is paying to influence government policies and an individual's right to privacy. It also served as a reminder that the groups are lobbying organizations backed by donors.

"If careful planning is not taken ... there will be much tension between lobbying organizations and their donors, and we don't want to imperil the work that many organizations do," said Alex Camarda, legislative director for Citizens Union.

The 2011 law that created JCOPE, passed last June and signed in August, mandated that the name of anyone donating more than $5,000 to such a coalition must be disclosed. The provision took effect June 1. The next filing date is July 15.

The JCOPE hearing was held to develop rules and regulations that will flesh out the law. The state has a formal process for making such rules, which takes at least 45 days to complete.

Representatives of the League of Women Voters and Citizens Union testified that no donor's identity should be disclosed until those regulations are finalized.

"You should not go back because people who legitimately gave funds before your regulations are developed had a presumption that their funding would not be reported," said Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director for the League of Women Voters.

The only JCOPE commissioner to question the five people who offered testimony was Ravi Batra, who was appointed by Senate Democrats.

Batra was pointed in his interrogation of Bartoletti and Camarda and said he was "stunned" by "recent disclosures," a likely reference to reports this week that gambling companies donated $2 million to the Committee to Save New York, a lobbying coalition of real estate magnates, business groups and a private-sector labor group that has spent nearly $16 million in two years to boost Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The $2 million contribution was made in December 2011 by the New York Gaming Association, a coalition of racinos that includes Malaysian gaming company Genting, according to NYGA's leader, James Featherstonhaugh. Cuomo made legalizing casino gambling and a proposal by Genting to build a convention center in Queens central points in his January State of the State address.

Batra, in a question, mentioned lobbying and campaign spending and suggested there were cases in which companies could "launder" contributions through lobbying coalitions.

Common Cause Executive Director Susan Lerner split with her colleagues and urged JCOPE to require disclosing donations over the period covered by the next reports, effectively mandating naming anyone who donated to lobbying campaigns during this year's legislative session.

"The statute sets up a retrospective reporting system, in general," she said. "In that context, the public is on notice from the passage of the statute ... We don't provide grace periods for other statutes that we require the public to follow."